Imaging the strain fields resulting from femtosecond laser micromachining of semiconductors

Laser-based processing with femtosecond light pulses has attracted considerable attention due to the qualitatively different light-matter interactions. The ultrashort light pulses facilitate removal of target material with minimal thermal effects. Many future applications depend on an understanding of the details of the machined materials, in terms of lateral damage, residual strain and localized changes in optical, mechanical and electronic materials properties. In this work we characterize laser-machined semiconductor samples, utilizing the degree-of-polarization photoluminescence technique supported by scanning and transmission electron microscopy.